Update and video of driving :)

We have had a long and busy week!  I got a lot done at school and finally reorganized my desk space.  I feel much better about it and more organized!! My students are definitely in routine and letting their true personalities shine ;) I am very happy with how things are progressing though.  I am being adventurous in my classroom while still trying to have fun and maintain learning.  I feel so honored to be where I am.  The staff is so kind and supportive.  I definitely feel right where I am supposed to be!

This weekend I really wanted to do something adventurous but we are watching our money and what not so Moe was against it! We did finally go shopping with a car again and got a trash can and an ironing board!  Sunday we decided to go to Airport Plaza and shop around a little.  It was a beautiful day so on the way home I decided to record a video.  If you watch this please, please, please, watch with the sound OFF.  It was way louder and windier than I imagined.  At the stop light you might want to listen to what I say but that is up to you.  This is only the second half of the trip but still interesting.  In it you can see an outdoor fruit market, the river, a temple, crazy driving, and much more!  (I have been having trouble uploading it to the blog, if it doesnt work you can watch the video here on my facebook.

Also this week, I went to the Ministry of Finance Office or something like that to apply for my work visa.  The school is super super helpful.  They took a van of 12 of us, led us to the place we were supposed to go, asked all the questions for us, called us up to sign 1 paper, then finished everything else for us.  I literally only showed up and signed my name.  I have no idea what I signed or what else the lady did.  It is one of the amazing and scary things about CMIS.  They have people who do everything for us.  We sign where they say and trust that whatever we are signing is legitimate and needed.  Anyway, the building we went to was GORGEOUS and it was HUGE. I didnt have my camera to take a picture but trust me!

Moe has been looking all day every day for a new puppy.  We might be making progress and have more to report on that soon too.  Also, we got a maid.  She comes from another teacher at school because she needed more hours.  She is here 2 days a week and is a miracle worker.  We are so blessed and Moe and I get along much better without arguing over who is doing the dishes ;)

Well I think that wraps up our week. I will try to be more diligent about this.....try.  Love you all. Hope all is well.

Sad news and good news

Things have been so crazy around here.  It has literally been one thing after the next.  But we are focusing on the good.

Yesterday, Suzy had a really rough day and seemed to be getting worse as the day went on.  We assumed that it was because she had been so sick and was just overwhelmed.  Unfortunately, she passed on during the night.  Moe and I were both very, very sad.  We buried her in the back by the river and shared one last moment together.  It is sad not having her presence around anymore and hearing her little whimpers.  We only had her a week but she definitely left her mark. She is and will be greatly missed.

In effort to not dwell on the situation much, we had a very busy day. We went to the grocery near by, Tesco Lotus which is similar to Walmart but a little smaller, with friends and got a bunch of things for our house.  We finally got a drying rack to dry our clothes and a bookcase to put by the door for our things.  We got cleaning supplies and some groceries.  We are finally settling in to the house and it now looks like people eat here as well as sleep here!  While we were out I treated myself to some Dunkin' Donuts and it was lovely! Overall a productive trip to the grocery.

This evening we went out to our friends house for dinner.  It was a wonderful time.  They grilled for us.  We had corn on the cob, green beans, bread, marinated pork tenderloin things, chicken wings, and yellow curry.  The spread was magnificent.  It was good to be away from the house and sharing life with others.

In between the grocery and dinner I ran to the market store place with Julie to buy "treasure box" items for my kids.  I was expecting like a Dollar Store type place. She had told me there were toys and things that were really cheap.  I was blown away! The store was a hole in the wall that had bulk of EVERYTHING.  For example they had these invisible pens.  Each pen is 10 baht but you have to buy the whole pack of 12.

Every item came like this.  The price per item was at the top and there were generally 12 items per package. This is silly puddy with fun things inside like hands or eye balls!  They are 5 baht each.

These things are so cool.  They are Iphones!! Ha. They are Iphone shaped water games.  Remember those games that have water and balls inside and you push the buttons to push the balls around.  Well thats what these do but are shaped like Iphones.  SO COOL!

I bought 12 packages like this.  I spent 1,050 baht which sounds like a lot, but the kids are helping me pay!  But look at this:  I got 144 items.  That is 7 baht per item.  That is $.23 per item!!!!! That would NEVER happen in the States.  I am so so so so so so so so so pumped.  This amount of things will probably last me the whole year.  I almost wish it didnt so I could go back and find more awesome things.  

All in all it was a good day.  It started very rough but again we are focusing on the good.  We are continuing to set up house.  I have found some amazing deals for things for my classroom.  We have spent wonderful time with friends.  We are so blessed to be here and take on each new challenge as they come.  

Suzy

This past weekend we had lunch with friends and then they were going to take us to the Dog Shelter where they have rescued dogs.  We went and it was a little scary for me.  There were about 175 dogs all in one massive area. It was feed time so they were all on edge.  There was non stop barking.  Some dogs were growling at each other and fighting. It was too much.  Matt and I both left worried we would never find a puppy!

On the way home our friends decided to take us to the 'pet market' an area where pets are sold.  As soon as we got out of the car we could hear barking and animals.  It was cute.  Each stall type store had their own collection of dogs.  There were lots and lots of puppies.  We stopped at the first place which had Thai mutts, chihuahua puppies, alsatian puppies, and one shih tzu.  We looked them all over, asked how old they were and how much each was just to get an idea of what prices would be.  We continued and saw a great variety of dogs.  We saw pugs, and huskies, and labs, and spitz, and poodles, and pomeranians.  Each dog was in a cage and not fighting, which was a relief for me!   They were all so cute.

I had decided very early on that I liked the shih tzu.  She had brown and white spots all over her and her little tail was wagging so much.  She was so friendly and happy.  So we decided to go back and look again.  The kids that were with us loved playing with her and she loved playing with them.  Our friends got out their Iphones so we could do some research, for Moe's sake.  Moe wanted to make sure it was a perfect dog for us ;) We finally decided that we would take her!! She is quiet possibly the cutest puppy ever :))  Meet Suzy!

the day we got Suzy

Suzy was so playful and wonderful the first night we got her.  But we knew that something was wrong the next day.  She had not eaten since we had gotten her even though we bought the exact same food they were feeding her before.  Plus she kept throwing up the little bits of water she had.  We took her to the vet multiple times the first 2 days.  Then yesterday Moe took her in again and they wanted to keep her over night.  She still had not eaten and they wanted to put in an IV to help her.  

We just got her back tonight.  They said she is doing much better.  We got quite a few medicines to give her over the next few days but hopefully that will help.  She has already eaten since being back, slept a little, and played a little.  Right now she is sleeping in her bed beside me looking adorable.  We are so happy to have her back and trust that she will be doing much better over the next few days.  We cant wait to watch her grow and learn all about doggy training!

Here is another picture of our cutie!!

Changing roles

We have now been here for 7 weeks and we are finally settling in to a place of our own.  We love it here.  Our house is cozy but probably too big for just the 2 of us!  I feel like we need to have parties every day just to make use of all the space.  BUT we are slowly filling the holes and marking our territory.  Last weekend we went to Big C Extra, similar to Walmart, and spent a lot of money.  It was like shopping right after our wedding.  We bought almost everything we could need.  Things like sheets, silverware, dishes, pots and pans, towels, bathroom supplies, hangers, and many other things.  Somehow we did manage to forget a few things like trash cans (even though we bough the bags) and a hanging rack for drying our clothes.  Anyway, we are settling in that is the important part!

What I really wanted to share today is how Moe and I have changed over these 7 weeks.  In some ways we have almost reversed roles as to when we lived in the States.  It is quite silly but also quite interesting to me.  Moe has given me permission to share this stuff so dont get your panties in a bunch (gee I love that phrase!)

The most obvious one to me is driving. In America, I was the "risky" driver (if we can even call it that).  I would speed and cut corner or whatever.  Moe would stay behind a car, barely reaching the speed limit and not even think about anything "risky".  But here, Moe is all over the place driving.  He is driving down the center lane of traffic with cars on both sides coming both ways.  He is passing cars on the shoulder and sometimes getting hit by tree branches just to get ahead.  He has definitely adopted the Thai way of driving motorbikes.  If I were driving.... oh boy. I would be staying behind a car the entrie way.  I would go slow just to be safe.  Please notice that I am using the future tense, would.  Driving here still scares me even though I definitely enjoy riding.

Another area we have changed roles is with our worry.  Back in the west :) I would be the one to worry about everything.  I would be paranoid that something might happen or we might die or get lost or whatever. Here Moe is that way.  He always has to have a map or know exactly where he is going.  He is paranoid we are going to get broken into or lose our bike.  Thailand is a safe place but he isnt so sure!  Now, I should make it clear that this doesnt mean I have stopped worrying! I still worry about my classroom or my kiddos but not getting lost or going to the grocery store or trying to talk to people.

The other area is money. In America, I would shop all the time and not worry about the money I was spending.  Here I am the one watching every baht and worrying when I think something is too expensive.  Moe on the other hand has no care for it all! He is buying stuff all the time and doesn't worry about how much it costs.  (I think this is related to my dilemma with money but that is a story for another time)  Today I found a pair of shoes that I liked that were 200 baht.  I was afraid to get them because I thought that was too much money.  Moe glared at me and reminded me that it was only 6 USD and that I was getting them.  He is so cute.  We also went ahead and splurged on a box of popcorn.  3 bags for 109 baht which is about $3.50.  That really is a little expensive for popcorn but we were craving something salty!

AND to top off all of Moe's money habits.  Today he bought me flowers.  TWO different kinds.  He must really love me!  He found some ceramic shop that he loved and bought 2 vases and a toothbrush holder that we have been needing.  He didnt want to just bring home empty vases so he bought flowers as well!! He must have known that I had a hard day at work today!

So there you have it.  Moe is wonderful.  Our roles in some things are suddenly totally opposite.  It just goes to show that people can change!  It has definitely opened our eyes, challenged us, and given us new appreciation for life.  We are loving each new adventure and appreciative of each new day!